-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- A 23-year-old exchange student , attacked in her Toronto apartment while a friend in China watched via computer webcam , was found dead there hours later , police say .

Toronto Police on Monday identified the student as Qian -LRB- Necole -RRB- Liu of Beijing . She was talking early Friday morning to a male friend from home when a man allegedly knocked on her door , asking to use her phone , police said in a news release .

The online witness said he saw Liu and the unknown man struggle for a time before the attacker turned off her laptop , the news release said .

The friend in China then started a desperate bid to find out what happened , CNN-affiliate CTV reported .

Ten hours later , police arrived at the basement apartment to find Liu 's body , naked from the waist down . Her laptop was missing .

`` It was obvious that she had been dead for some period of time , '' Detective Sgt. Frank Skubic said in the news release .

The cause of the death is yet to be determined , the news release said . There were no obvious signs of sexual assault or severe physical trauma , and police are awaiting toxicology reports , it said .

Police are unsure whether Liu , an exchange student at York University , knew the man . The attacker was described as white , age 20 to 30 , 6 feet tall , weighing 175 to 200 pounds , with a muscular build and medium-length brown hair , and wearing a blue crew-neck T-shirt .

With no suspects and no one in custody , police have been questioning neighbors , CTV reported . A cell phone found in the apartment is also undergoing forensic examination , police said .

York University President Mamdouh Shoukri released a statement saying , `` Qian 's death is a terrible tragedy and our entire community mourns the loss of a promising young student . ''

Liu 's family is currently on their way to Canada from China , CTV reported .

A call to police seeking further comment was not immediately returned .

This is not the first time a crime has been captured by webcam . In the most notorious incident , Meleanie Hain of Lebanon , Pennsylvania was shot dead in 2009 while talking to a friend via webcam . The friend was looking away when he heard a shot and a scream , police said . Upon looking back at the screen , the friend saw Hain 's husband firing a handgun at where his wife had been , they said . Police later found both Hain and her husband dead in their home .

@highlight

A friend in China sees the woman attacked in her Toronto apartment

@highlight

They had been chatting via webcam , police say

@highlight

The 23-year-old woman is later found dead in the apartment